Does AppleCare?

Hey y’all, it’s Austin. It has been less than a week since Apple Inc. rolled out its newest product, a credit card. The launch hasn’t gone all that smoothly. The Apple Card’s stark white appearance, a key selling point, is prone to discoloration and ugly scuff marks. Apple responded to criticism by issuing a notice to customers advising them not to store the credit card in leather or denim. That followed a U.S. ban on flying with certain models of the MacBook Pro, malfunctioning iPhone X touchscreens and widespread defects in its computer keyboards. Such flaws are surprising for a company famous for its perfectionism.

As an avid consumer with a long list of Apple products, including laptops, iPhones, iPads, iMacs, AirPods, Apple TVs—am I forgetting any others?—I’ve had to deal with some of these woes firsthand. They can be a big source of frustration in software (the soon-to-be-overhauled iCloud continues to cause problems), but hardware shortcomings cause larger headaches, especially Apple’s so-called “butterfly” keyboard design, which has become notorious for its sticky buttons. All these hardware defects could benefit from an improvement to an Apple service that's often overlooked: customer support.